


A Name and A Pair of Headphones

by StupidComputer



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Also some fluff, And angst, M/M, based loosely on a book, but a happy ending, established boyf riends, michael's existence and memories of him have been erased from everyone except for jeremy's, squips are in here but they're not just pills
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 23:14:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11278767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StupidComputer/pseuds/StupidComputer
Summary: Less than a month ago Jeremy Heere's boyfriend, Michael Mell, disappeared. There were no search parties, no news updates, no case filed with the police. Michael went missing and Jeremy was the only one who cared. And the only one who remembered that he even existed. A few things he knows for certain: Michael Mell was seventeen when he disappeared. He loved Jeremy very much. He would never abandon him. Jeremy Heere was going to find him.





	A Name and A Pair of Headphones

The first thing Jeremy did when he woke up was say Michael’s name out loud. It wasn’t a habit or a ritual. Saying the name was a promise; a promise he made every morning for the past three weeks.

“Michael Mell.” The words were loud, demanding to be heard by ears that were not there.

The world stood still for a moment. Jeremy closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and hoped beyond all reason that simply saying the name would change things. At any moment his phone would light up with a good morning test and he’d see the icon of his boyfriend’s face: tongue out and flipping him off playfully. He would go downstairs, grab a drink from the fridge, then head out to the driveway where Michael Mell would be waiting for him in his lame PT Cruiser.

Michael Mell, the most beautiful man in the world.

Michael Mell, who always wore a red hoodie and jeans, even in summer.

Michael Mell, video game addict and vintage nerd extraordinaire.

Michael Mell, the man Jeremy loved more than anything.

Michael Mell, who loved him back.

Michael Mell, missing for twenty-one days.

“Michael Mell is seventeen. He’s my boyfriend and he loves me. He would never abandon me.” All were facts that he was sure of. The universe, however, seemed to still need some convincing.

When Jeremy opened his eyes again the world was the same as he had left it. It was rainy outside, his sheets were jumbled on the floor from a restless sleep, and his phone sat on his bedside table with only the full battery notice blinking in the top corner.

The world continued and it did so without Michael Mell.

When it all started Jeremy thought he was on some kind of prank show. He had to be, it was the only logical explanation.

The day that Michael disappeared Jeremy started his day like any other. When he didn’t get a text from Michael he figured that his boyfriend had simply forgotten. It happened time to time when he was in a rush. Things got slightly more unsettling when Michael didn’t pick him up for school, but Jeremy thought that maybe he just got held up at seven-eleven. Maybe his phone was dead so he couldn’t call him to say that he’d be late. Maybe he overslept. Maybe this, maybe that. So many maybes that would have been so much better than the truth. The truth hurt so much more.

Michael didn’t show up for school. When Jeremy went to text him he found that he no longer had a contact labeled ‘Mikey Hell.’ There were no pictures in his phone of the two of them. The teacher didn’t say his name during rollcall. Everything was wrong, everything was closing in. There was no air, no sound. He dropped his phone, the screen shattering to pieces as it hit the tile floor.

He fainted.

Walking to school was, not considering all other missing Michael related issues, the worst part of Jeremy’s day. Adding on to the bunchy underwear and sweaty pits, it gave him too much time to think. He hated being alone with his thoughts because all he could think about was Michael. How he used to smell, the way he pouted when he wanted something, how soft his stomach was and how strong his arms were. He hated thinking about how much he missed Michael so instead he put on the one item that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that his boyfriend had existed: his headphones.

The night before Michael disappeared, the night before the world had forgotten him, he had left his headphones at Jeremy’s house. In turn, he had worn them to bed, listening to the terrible playlist Michael had made for him and letting it lull him to sleep. It was the last thing of Michael’s in the entire world that still existed and Jeremy wasn’t going to let go of them.

The headphones beat Bob Marley songs quietly into his ears; the tunes were so different from what he used to listen to. He couldn’t bring himself to listen to top forties any more. Instead he listened to bands and singers that Michael had liked. Whitesnake, Twisted Sisters, the occasional Marley thrown in here and there. All music that his boyfriend used to love, music he loved because it was his last link to him.

As the smooth notes of Marely faded into _Here I Go Again_ , Jeremy felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder. A shiver went up his spine. For a moment, a beautifully brief moment, he convinced himself that the hand belonged to Michael. He soon realized that the grip was too tight, the hand too small. The smell of body spray and sweat overtook him and before he could even try to run away the hand shoved him hard, sending him spiraling towards the sidewalk.

“Out of the way Tall Ass.” Suddenly the hand was put to a person.

Rich towered over him, arms crossed and shoulders squared in a dominating position. For once the boy could look down at Jeremy; all five foot five inches of him seemed to extend to the sky. Jeremy couldn’t concentrate on him, choosing to instead dab his fingers at his mouth. Warm, tangy blood spilled from his lip and dripped onto the sidewalk. Splat, splat, splat.

Rich didn’t even give him a chance to be afraid. The shorter boy kicked him aside and continued on his path to school. Jeremy knew that Rich never walked; the encounter had only happened because Rich had planned it. Bastard.

Ignoring the blood dripping from his mouth, Jeremy heaved himself up to his feet. He took a moment to examine the headphones, making sure they weren’t broken, then continued on his way. He sucked on his lip in a vain effort to get it to stop bleeding. He thought about what would’ve happened if Michael had been around. He would’ve made Jeremy sit down on a bench while he cleaned up the cut. If there were any other scrapes he would’ve pulled out his emergency ‘My Boyfriend Is A Klutz’ star trek band-aids from his hoodie pocket. He would’ve kissed each tiny red mark better.

But Michael was gone and nobody in the world remembered that he had even existed in the first place.  

**Author's Note:**

> Idea based on the book Across the Universe! Sporadic updates that will switch between present and flash back. Hope y'all enjoy


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